The Italian Project Manager for the initiative “Combating Serious Crime in the Western Balkans-IPA 2019” Mr Carlo Verdiglione of the Italian Ministry of Interior, met the Kosovar Minister of Interior and Public Administration Xhelal Svecla and the General Director of the Kosovo Police Mr Driton Mehmeti in Pristina today. He was accompanied by the Ambassador of Italy to Kosovo, Mr Nicola Orlando, and the resident expert in Pristina, Mr Giovanni Mastrolorito.
In the friendly and fruitful meetings, Mr Verdiglione updated the Kosovar counterparts on the progress in the project implementation. “This is an regional project that benefits Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia”, said Mr Verdiglione, who is a Senior Manager in the Department of Public Security of the Italian Ministry of Interior. “The project supports the Kosovo police forces in carrying out operational activities aimed at combating organized crime. It is also promotes Kosovo’s participation in EU cooperation mechanisms, such as the European Multifunctional Platform Against Criminal Threat”. Mr Verdiglione stressed that the project’s approach is to support beneficiaries and helping them to exploit all the international police cooperation tools.
The Ambassador of Italy to Kosovo, Mr Nicola Orlando, highlighted the importance of the IPA project stressing that “It also confirms the Italian commitment to strengthening the Kosovo crime-fighting institutions, thus promoting the country’s path toward integration in the European Union. Italy remains a key partner of Kosovo in this field and we look forward to the implementation of this project.”.
Funded by the European Commission, Italy and Germany within the Instrument of Pre-Accession IPA 2019 program, the program “Combating Serious Crime in the Wester Balkans” will invest around 18 million Euro until 2023 and focuses on the following pillars: (1) investigation; (2) participation and contribution to the EU and intraregional cooperation structures and assessments; and (3) information exchange.
